The Event

What is "The Event"? In this situation, it's not some annoyingly coy new TV show being overhyped by NBC but rather the end of The Streak.

Isn't is cute how Stanford was the last team to beat Penn State, and they ended the streak three years later? It's adorable. Klineman -- remember Klineman? -- brought her new and improved arm to the party and ripped off 16 kills, which probably helped a smidge.

Losing to St. Louis and Florida the previous two years? Forgotten. We're in a post-Hodge / Fawcett / Glass world, people. It's all about the Klinemans, Lichtmans, and Wopats now.

So now that it has ended, we need that one, perfect Russ Rose quote that puts it all into perspective, cuts through the layers of gunk and hoopla:
"I didn't talk about it the last two years. I don't want to talk about it now that it's done."
Mmm... like slipping into a bath with a warm cup o' hot chocolate.

Now, something really salacious, something sensationalistic from Dunning, the kind of quote we've come to expect from him:

"I think it's really exciting for my team."

Yes, excitement is exciting. He totally nailed it.

How would the rest of the sports world react? Like, say, in Hartford, CT?

"UConn's 78-Game Streak Now Nation's Longest"

Yes, UConn, because it's all about YOU.

So, hey, how about one of those AWESOME lists of things that have happened since the last time Penn State lost? You know, the kinds that puts in perspective how truly wild a streak of 109 straight wins is? Let's go. During The Streak...
1. Hawaii was screwed by the NCAA selection committee no less than three times.
2. "Gary Unmarried"'s entire life cycle ran its course on CBS.
3. Jessica Yanz enrolled and played for two other schools.
4. "Snookie" became a part of the American lexicon.
5. Indiana hired no less than 12 different assistant coaches.
6. Georgia did the same thing, but has been holding steady for the past two years!
7. Sand volleyball became an emerging NCAA sport, just in time for no one to be able to afford it.
8. Jessica Gysin, perhaps the most hobbled superstar ever, played a record-setting 22nd year of collegiate volleyball. But unlike Tomasevic, we were all OK with it, because, you know, how could more Gysin be a bad thing?